Antique & Classic Cars Blog

It’s a given that you shouldn’t drink before riding a motorcycle. Obviously you wouldn’t get drunk, but even a little alcohol is dangerous because it brings out the Superman cape.

Before a beer, it’s all proper riding position, sight lines, safe technique… after one, gaps seem bigger, traffic lights slower, braking distances longer. An E.R. doctor could confirm that a meaningful number of riders they sew up have some alcohol in their system. They thought they were riding better than ever. The reverse was true.

Coming home in the Dodge today–haven’t picked up the “new” bike yet–another safety idea popped in mind: Don’t ride immediately after hearing Love Cats, by the Cure. Like the song or no, with its driving rhythm galumphing around in your skull, it’s going to crash into the nerve center carefully metering your throttle input–and there go the revs.

Other songs can be added to this cautionary list. I also won’t be listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “You Got That Right” and “I Know a Little,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” most Courtney Love, Dick Dale’s “Misirlou,” and just about everything by the Violent Femmes.

If out on the bike and exposed to one of these songs, proper protocol will be to take a walk, get some air and try to listen to something instrumental by Sting, or maybe our own Billy McLaughlin. Be calm, ride calm, live longer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 6:33 pm and is filed under Motorcycle tales. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.